Fabián García is known as the father of the New Mexican food industry. However, his work not only impacted the state's cuisine but also its physical landscape.

Born in 1872 in Chihuahua City, Mexico, Fabián García was orphaned twice.

Later, his adoptive grandmother, Jacoba García, took him in and moved them to New Mexico.

Fabián García and his grandmother moved between different mining towns before Jacoba García found work as a domestic worker in the home of wealthy orchardists in Mesilla.

"They're the largest growers of apples, peaches, and pears in southern New Mexico at the time," CU Denver history professor Peter Kopp said. "He got his first schooling through this wealthy family ... and he didn't learn English until he was a teenager."

Previously, García went to school only once o

See Full Page